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The NHL season will kick off Saturday, but the Flames will lift the curtain Sunday at home against the San Jose Sharks.

The next night will see the Anaheim Ducks grace the Saddledome, before the Flames visit the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, Jan. 23 and then return home to play host to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, Jan. 26.

The end the month at home to the Colorado Avalanche Jan. 31.

Welcome to the compression of a 48-game season.

Talk about jumping into the fray.

“Especially after the long layoff,” said Flames centre Blair Jones after a handful of players skated Saturday at WinSport Athletic & Ice Complex.

“It’ll be good. It’s the same for everybody. We’re just excited to get things started.”

In fact, the regular season will last only 97 days for the Flames.

The league campaign willconclude April 27, but Calgary won’t play that last Saturday.

“Yeah, it’ll be busy, but hearing that (start to the season), the thing that speaks to that is you hope for a quick start at home,” said Flames forward Michael Cammalleri.

“But the schedule’s going to be busy right through, and it would be important for us to understand how to manage our game, understand our energy and do so better than the other team.

“The off-ice stuff will become even more significant in a season like this. The better you can sleep and the better you can eat and keep yourself hydrated will help you on the ice.”

Sven Baertschi, the club’s top prospect expected to make the jump and have an impact in his rookie season, has spent a half-season in the AHL, where three games in three nights is a regular event.

By comparison, wouldn’t a four-in-six start seem easier?

“It’s a little higher level, so it’s different,” Baertschi said. “Hopefully, I’m going to be there (with the Flames).

I haven’t made the team yet, so there’s a lot of work to be done. The goal is to be part of that.”

During the 48-game 1994-95 season, the Flames used 41 players — four of which were goaltenders.

Only two players, Robert Reichel and Zarley Zalapski, suited up for every contest.

The war of attrition — read: injuries — will be as much a part of success as anything else.

Luck and rest will be paramount.

“The first thing you look at is the back-to-back games with travel,” Cammalleri said of the inevitable fatigue factor.

“Those are always the most difficult because it’s just harder to rest. You play a game, you fly, your body clock’s off, it’s hard to get to sleep, and then you play again within 24 hours. Those, right away, jump out at you as players.

“Everything else is circumstantial. If you’re feeling good that day, get a good night’s sleep, and you feel good. If not, you’ve got to find a way to do what you can for the team.

“(Getting through the fatigue) is more of a mental thing than physical. If you can try and relax yourself away from the rink and then get the intensity back at the rink, that’s the most efficient way to do it.

“One thing I learned in the playoff stretches was when

I felt good it was when I could remove myself, disengage from the game, when I wasn’t at the rink.

The NHL season will kick off Saturday, but the Flames will lift the curtain Sunday at home against the San Jose Sharks.

The next night will see the Anaheim Ducks grace the Saddledome, before the Flames visit the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, Jan. 23 and then return home to play host to the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday, Jan. 26.

The end the month at home to the Colorado Avalanche Jan. 31.

Welcome to the compression of a 48-game season.

Talk about jumping into the fray.

“Especially after the long layoff,” said Flames centre Blair Jones after a handful of players skated Saturday at WinSport Athletic & Ice Complex.

“It’ll be good. It’s the same for everybody. We’re just excited to get things started.”